SCRABBLE with Friends
Tournament Play and Rules
Teams of up to 8 people are seated at a table with a SCRABBLE game board and a standard bag
of 100 tiles.
There will be three (3) rounds of competitive team play. Your goal is to build the highest
scoring board in the allotted time and in compliance with tournament rules. Rounds will last
20, 15, and 15 minutes.
At the beginning of each round, all teams will be given the same instructions for starting the
board. You may be asked to place a “starter word” on the board, or you may be asked to place
specific tiles on specific squares. These starter instructions must remain in place during the
round. Team members will work together to place words on the board and may use any letters
from the bag of tiles at any time during the round. Words are formed from left to right, or
down, never diagonally or upwards. Except for the starter instructions, you may change the
placement of words and letters during the round; however, at the end of the round, all
touching letters must create a word, all words must intersect, and there may be no free
standing letters on the board. Words that do not intersect, invalid words, and freestanding
letters will be deducted from the final score.
Each table should designate a scribe who will record the team name and actual game play on
the SCRABBLE game diagram at the end of the round. The two blank tiles may be used as any
letter. When playing a blank, the player must state which letter it represents. The blank tiles
will count as 0 points at the end of the round, regardless of which letter they represent. The
score for each word is the sum of the letter values in each word, plus the additional points
obtained from placing letters on premium squares. Premium squares will be counted for every
word in which they appear. All unplayed tiles must be recorded at the bottom of the game
diagram at the end of the round. The point value of unplayed letters will be deducted from the
team score.
The rounds will last 20, 15, and 15 minutes. A 5-minute and 2-minute warning will be given
before the end of play. When the end of the round is called, all play must stop. The ‘sheriffs’
will then collect the completed SCRABBLE game diagrams from each table scribe and submit
them to the ‘judges’ for scoring. At this point, each team must remove all tiles from the board
and await the instructions for the next round. Team scores for each round will be given at the
end of the evening. Each round will have special awards given for categories announced prior to
the round. The team scoring the highest point totals within the allotted time for that round will
win prizes. A grand prize will be awarded to the highest overall tournament score.
During the play a team may choose to make an extra donation to the ETLC by:
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Purchasing a peek at the Official SCRABBLE Players Dictionary
“Buying an extra tile” (based upon the value of the letter tile) for one round of play.
Standard tiles will be available for purchase during each round for that round only.
The official SCRABBLE Players Dictionary, Fourth Edition, published by Merriam-Webster, Inc.
will be used by the judges to verify the accuracy and legitimacy of all words.
The following will not be permitted, and will disqualify teams from the Tournament:
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Bringing lists of words in to the Tournament Room
Using hand-held devices to look up words during the SCRABBLE board Tournament
Bringing dictionaries, including the Official SCRABBLE Players Dictionary, into the
Tournament Room
Any scoring or other disputes will be decided at the sole discretion of the ETLC.